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Nature is serious business - cutting environmental programs is bad for the economy | Opinion

Updated August 5, 2017 at 9:06 AM;Posted August 5, 2017 at 9:00 AM

The Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat docks on City Island after leaving winter drydock at the south end of the island. The Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat is launched at City Island in Harrisburg for its 2017 season.
April 25, 2017.
Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

The Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat docks on City Island after leaving winter drydock at the south end of the island. The Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat is launched at City Island in Harrisburg for its 2017 season.
April 25, 2017.
Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com(Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive)

As state legislators discuss how to balance the budget, talk has turned to raiding special fund transfers.

A proposal authored by House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, could reduce or eliminate funding for The Keystone Recreation Park and Conservation Fund, Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund, and Farmland Preservation.

These programs are critical for environmental protection, historic preservation, public health, and economic development. Targeting environmental programs to balance the budget is not only short-sighted, but it will harm the economy.

A recent 2016 Dauphin County Return on Environment (ROE) report by Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Audubon Pennsylvania, and Keystone Conservation Trust, which studied the value of open space, forests, fields, rivers and streams from the standpoint of recreation, public health, and quality of life, finds that these natural system services are worth nearly $1 billion annually.

In the absence of many of these services such as forested river banks which help filter polluted storm water runoff and decrease the severity of flooding, taxpay-ers would have to foot the bill to recreate some of these services.

The report has gained the support and attention of the Dauphin County Commissioners, Dauphin County Parks and Recreation Department, Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Capital Region Water, and over 20 conservation groups.

The findings are astounding. The annual ROE value is estimated at $958.7 million dollars -- after jobs, revenue, and state and local taxes are added.

When home properties within a 1/4 mile of protected open space are considered, the property value increases by $39.7 million to $50.5 million.

The figures are based on dozens of studies, interviews with experts, scientific models, and tourism and travel data generated by local, state, and federal governments.

The ROE information has proven to be so helpful and persuasive to government officials that Northampton County Commissioners, upon learning of the results from a 2014 ROE study for the Lehigh Valley, succeeded in getting $2.2 million replaced in Northampton County's open space budget for 2015.

It is no coincidence that Bass Pro Shops, Dick's Sporting Goods, and other outdoor recreation businesses have set up shop in the mid-state.

While hiking leads the pack in outdoor recreation pursuits with $60.3 million annually, hunting and fishing generates $52.2 million and $26.1 million, respectively for Dauphin County.

Conserving open space and protecting rivers and streams pro-vides crucial habitat for fish and wildlife. Remove it and risk destroying local economies that rely on a clean and vibrant environment to sustain their business.

The ROE value is not only apparent with respect to open space and outdoor recreation, but it is crucial for public health. Accord-ing to the 2015 State of the Air by American Lung Association, Dauphin County earned a "D" grade in 2015 for its air quality with 64 calendar days classified as unhealthy for ozone (smog) pollution, a harmful and deadly lung irritant.

Trees and vegetation help absorb and filter harmful air pollution that otherwise would find its way into people's airways.

The ROE estimates that protected open spaces, forests, and woodlands in Dauphin County are responsible for saving $9.1 million in avoided health care costs. The ROE offers a good prescription for the County and for that matter, all Pennsylvania municipalities to pursue.

State legislators could consider asking the question: What is my district's Return on Environment worth? If they did, they would soon discover that protecting open space and the environment reaps untold dividends and offers enjoyment for their constituents and their businesses for generations to come.

Tampering with environmental funding is the proverbial Robbing Peter to Pay Paul philosophy, which will only lead to greater resource damage and create a detrimental impact to the local economy.

It bears mentioning and perhaps legislators should be reminded that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently affirmed Article 1, Section 27 of our state constitution - the Environmental Rights Amendment: The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As the trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all of the people.

For more information about the Return on Environment Reports, visit: kittatinnyridge.org - Explore - Research and Education

Brooks Mountcastle writes on behalf of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Jeanne Barrett Ortiz writes on behalf of Audubon Pennsylvania. John Rogers writes on behalf of the Keystone Conservation Trust.